Are Potholes and Poorly Maintained Sidewalks Causing San Diego Bicycle Accidents?

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently published an article on personal injury lawsuits in San Diego. According to the article, San Diego is facing multiple lawsuits for accidents caused by potholes, damaged sidewalks and trenches. These conditions caused deaths and catastrophic injuries to pedestrians, cyclists and others.

The article describes multiple accidents that have occurred in the past several years. These accidents include but are not limited to:

• A man who died after hitting a protruding sidewalk in Old Town while riding a Segway. Segways are motorized scooter devices.
• A Sorrento Valley man who became paralyzed from the neck down after hitting a rock pile while riding in a bike lane. According to the man, he flipped his bike after construction workers left the rock pile next to an open trench.
• A man who suffered a head injury after hitting a damaged sidewalk while biking in Del Cerro. In this case, San Diego paid $5 million to the cyclist.

Potholes, damaged sidewalks, oil slicks, trenches, train tracks and construction zones can cause bicycle accidents. While not necessarily dangerous to motor vehicles, these hazards can injure or kill “vulnerable road users”. This is a term that describes people who are not using motor vehicles. Cyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders and people using Segways are all examples of “vulnerable road users”. The cases described above are good examples of how these hazards can cause injuries or deaths to these individuals.

We have information on our website that can help you report potholes and other road hazards. You can also learn about how to look for and avoid these hazards by reading our website.

Can I File a San Diego Pothole Claim?

Your ability to recover compensation for an accident caused by a road hazard would depend on the circumstances. You could speak to San Diego bicycle accident attorney Bonnici Law Group at no cost to determine whether it would be possible to seek compensation. To reach our law office, call (619) 853-5101 or use our online case review form.